John's Silicon Valley History Page


A message from a new friend

I am glad I happened onto your site .Today after 7-8 years of frustration, I had decided to call it a day on my husband's grandfather's Irish ancestors.!!
I think I have been punishing myself!!
I have no known true facts on this line but sure would love to beat the odds.
I have just turned 83 --and though active and alert still--so feel  that though not calling myself OLD, I am getting older and maybe less effective at this genealogy business.
Here is what I think is truth.
 A man named  James A. Casey   sailed on a schooner and it took 3 months at sea to reach USA. 
Now I do not know where he sailed or landed but we have been led to believe that he may have sailed out of Liverpool on Schooner Cambridge.
Landed in NY-- possibly  to Castle Garden--as it was abt in 1835-1850ish. 
Stayed NY for 2 years and found work. ---He "was Educated" -which may mean that he could read and write. 
He had a wife named Maria Reburn and we don't know what part of Ireland she came from either or if they married in Ireland, or USA
 But they were together in New York,
 Know they had following children: 
a daughter Mary --b.abt 1840 in New York.
a son George William-- b abt 1843  in NY
Then they moved to Wisconsin -not sure city at this point but they did end up in Fond du Lac.
We think James took up farming
They had more children:
Catherine b abt 1845  inWi
James jr. b 1848  in  Wi
Margaret Reburn b abt 1849  in Wi
Thomas A. Casey-- b 10 May 1856--- in Fond du Lac ,Wi.
 Margaret married a Edmund Blewett in Racine Wi. 
Thomas A. Casey married Hermina Herrgesell in Ludington Michigan. These two people are my husband's grandparents. Thomas and Hermina moved to western part of USA and raised their 6 children in Sultan in Washington State.
Now--back to James A. and Maria--I have tried everything suggested to locate any newspaper articles, Marriages, deaths ,
burial   obits --to no avail.
I think I am at the end of this search unless a miracle happens very soon!!!
 Oh, by the way this  is a family joke .
 Thomas A. Casey would never tell anyone what the middle initial A stood for and even swore his wife to secrecy and so no one ever knew what his middle name was.
 I read alot about Ireland and what words meant. I came on a word spelled Attholl meaning' quiet valley or some such,'
 so I have wondered if that was it. 
Funny --because just recently I was watching the movie "Made  of Honor"a( Man is to be the maid of Honor)and it was based in Scotland. One of the Groom's  grandmother's said to the bride -"do not name a  son  "Attholl." 
I knew the joke behind all this and felt quite smug as I was familiar with the name and what it would do to a child given that name. 
In Scottish it means dukedom.
I have done my husband's ---father's "French- Canadian "ancestors back to their start in the Pyrenees Mountains of France.
I am doing his Mom's German Bohemian  tree as we speak and have all sorts of good stuff on them in Ludington Michigan but nothing in Bohemia except the town they came from./ records hard to get into there.
Also,  my  dad's  Scottish  ancestors back to 1740 and my mother's  English kin back to early 1800's so am satisfied with my efforts there.
Thanks for listening
Regards,
Joyce Chiasson
Washington State in USA.
joyc@olypen.com

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